Curriculum OBJECTIVES

VIDEO

Science / Year 3 / Forces and magnets

Pupils should be taught to:

·  compare how things move on different surfaces

·  notice that some forces need contact between two objects, but magnetic forces can act at a distance

·  observe how magnets attract or repel each other and attract some materials and not others

·  compare and group together a variety of everyday materials on the basis of whether they are attracted to a magnet, and identify some magnetic materials

·  describe magnets as having two poles

·  predict whether two magnets will attract or repel each other, depending on which poles are facing

CURRICULUM CODES IN THIS TEACHER PACK

Science / Year 3 / Forces and magnets

Mathematics / Year 3 / Statistics

Art and design / Key Stage 2

Physical education / Key Stage 2

ACTIVITY / RESOURCES / OBJECTIVE
Activity 2: Push and Pull Charades
Timeframe: 30 minutes
Ask students to brainstorm different movements that they make every day. This might including brushing your teeth, combing your hair, typing at a computer, kicking a ball, etc. Record these examples on the white board.
Choose students to act out one of the push or pull movements on the board. If the student is able to, they may also choose a movement independently. The rest of the class must guess the movement and identify whether it is a push or a pull action. / Science / Key Stage 2 / Forces and magnets
ACTIVITY / RESOURCES / OBJECTIVE
Activity 3: Ramp It Up
Timeframe: 1 hour
Split students into groups of four. Using planks of wood and some toy cars, ask each group to sit a car on the edge of the ramp from varying heights. Ensure that students do not push the car.
You might initially want to start with the plank of wood being horizontal, then increase the incline by small increments until the plank is almost vertical. Ask students how a change in height affects the speed at which the car moves and discuss why this might be the case.
Highlight the fact that nobody was pushing the car. Ask students:
·  Is the force acting on the front or the back of the car?
·  Was it a push or a pull force that made the car move?
·  What does this tell you about where pushing occurs and where pulling occurs on an object?
Ask them to explain their answers, encouraging them to conclude that pulling usually occurs at the front of an object, and pushing usually occurs at the back of an object. / Planks of wood
Toy cars / Science / Key Stage 2 / Forces and magnets
ACTIVITY / RESOURCES / OBJECTIVE
Activity 4: Hand Football
Timeframe: 30 minutes
Take your students out on into the playground and set up a game of football. Explain to your students, however, that instead of using their feet, they must move their hands to push the ball.
After 10 minutes of playing hand football, bring your class back together and discuss how the game is being played. Ask them:
·  How do you feel about playing football with your hands?
·  Why do you think it takes much longer for the ball to move from one side of the field to the other?
·  Why do you think the ball moves much more quickly, and with greater distance, when it is pushed with your feet (e.g. – you are able to move your feet much further back and, thus, add much more speed and strength when pushing the ball).
After this discussion, students should resume playing football with their feet to draw comparisons between the two methods of play. / Football / Science / Key Stage 2 / Forces and magnets
Physical education / Key Stage 2
ACTIVITY / RESOURCES / OBJECTIVE
Activity 5: Magnets
Timeframe: 1 hour
Split your class into groups of 3 or 4 students, and give each group a pair of bar magnets. Ask students to observe what occurs when they point two positive (or north) ends, two negative (or south) ends, and a positive and a negative end toward each other.
Students are to record their observations on the Magnets worksheet. Prompt students to describe each interaction as a push or a pull and to include this information on their worksheet. Encourage students to explain their understanding by recalling what each force looks like (to move away and to move toward).
You might want to bring in a magnetic dartboard, a Magnetix set, or other toys that use magnets, to show students that these properties can be used to create fun toys to play with. / Bar magnets
Magnets worksheet / Science / Key Stage 2 / Forces and magnets